


Falling Snow

by bluemermaid



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, HP: EWE, Post-Canon, Romance, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-14 07:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3402797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemermaid/pseuds/bluemermaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Padma feels silly and embarrassed about fancying Harry Potter, but she's still able to tell him her Christmas wish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling Snow

The doors of the lift opened and Padma Patil hesitated before getting on. She couldn't exactly not get on, not when she'd so obviously been standing there waiting for the lift. But Harry Potter was in there already, and Padma had been trying her best to avoid him as much as possible.

Still, she stepped inside, so as not to embarrass herself by fleeing. She forced a smile at Harry as the doors closed behind her. "Hello, Harry."

"Hi, Padma," he replied casually, with an answering smile that made Padma feel weak. "Where are you headed?"

"Just up to my office," she said. _To bang my head against my desk._ "Coming back from lunch."

"Oh," said Harry. There was an awkward pause, during which Harry scratched the back of his head and Padma felt like disappearing. "I know we're in a building of magic," Harry said finally, "but I still think you need to tell the lift which floor you'd like."

"Oh!" Padma gasped, feeling even worse about herself, as she hit the proper button with a heavy embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

Harry chuckled. "That's all right. Hopefully soon they'll come up with a mind-reading device in here, right?" 

Padma forced a laugh, hoping she didn't sound too pathetic. "Oh, yes, would make things so much easier," she said. The lift jolted into motion, lowering the two of them deep into the Ministry. Padma looked up at the ceiling and pursed her lips, thinking. When was she ever going to grow up, really? She was acting like a silly schoolgirl. Her sister would be cackling hysterically if she were there. Padma was grateful for some miracles, anyway.

"Is it still raining outside?" Harry asked her.

Padma gasped. "Yes," she cried, with such vehement anger that Harry laughed, though not unkindly.

"I take it you're not in love with precipitation," he said to her with a grin. "I think we are due for a nice day; there ought to be some sunshine tomorrow."

"Oh, no, you've completely misunderstood," said Padma, losing her shyness over her enthusiasm for the topic. "I do hate the rain, but I most definitely don't want any sun. It's December, Harry, and it ought to snow."

"You love snow?" Harry asked. Padma couldn't tell if he was mocking her or genuinely confused by the idea.

"Of course," she gushed, clapping her hands together. "Pure white, glistening beauty, perfect for the holiday season. Every Christmas ought to have snow. It should be a law."

Harry laughed again. "That's an opinion I've not heard much," he said. "Most of us seem to wish we had a county-wide heating spell to evaporate all the slippery mush."

"Well, not me," said Padma, just as the lift came to a stop. The doors opened, and she stepped out onto her floor, shaking her head at him. "I adore snow, and I wish for it daily."

"Then I hope you get your wish, Padma," Harry said to her.

Padma felt a warm tingly feeling in her stomach. He had such a fantastic smile, and his brilliant green eyes gleamed with something so incredibly sweet. "Thank you, Harry," she said, and stood there, slightly dazed, even after the doors closed.

She could hardly concentrate on her papers after that, and later on in the evening, Hermione Granger came by looking concerned. "Padma, haven't you finished yet? You're usually out and done before I am."

Padma shuffled her papers nervously. "Oh, yes, nearly done," she said, plastering a gigantic fake smile on her face. "And how are you faring today, Hermione?"

Hermione got one of those slightly-irritating knowing smiles of hers on her face. "I'm very well, thank you," she said. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Anything you'd like to discuss?"

"No," said Padma, looking down at her chest. "You go ahead and head out; I'll follow along shortly."

There was a heavy pause before Hermione replied. "All right," she said finally, and Padma breathed a silent sigh of relief once she'd gone. There was nothing to be gained by telling one of Harry's best friends about Padma's little fancy for him. It would only make things even more mortifying.

Of course, it didn't matter what Padma _said_ , because when she got in the next morning, Hermione was standing in the doorway to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, grinning like she'd eaten the canary. "Good morning, Padma," she said.

Padma grimaced. "What now, Hermione?"

Hermione shook her head. "Can't I wish a lovely morning to a friend?"

"Right. Morning, then." Padma marched past Hermione and placed her hand on the doorknob to her office. There was going to be something horrible in there, she just knew it. A letter from the Minister, letting her down easy after he'd picked Hermione to be his next assistant, perhaps. But no, Hermione would never be so cruel as to crow over something like that. 

Padma opened the door and gasped so loudly she was sure they must have heard her all the way up on the streets. But it was not a gasp of horror, not in the slightest. It was a gasp of wonderment and joy, for it was snowing in Padma's office.

Little white flakes dotted the tops of everything, from the lamp to the filing cabinet to the framed picture of the Patil sisters that was sitting on the desk. Padma placed her hands over her mouth and stood in the doorway just watching it, the cold snow drifting down from the ceiling in swirling patterns of beauty.

"A magnificent work of magic, really," came Hermione's voice from just behind Padma. "It's lucky you didn't happen to pop in early today, because it took him several tries to get it right. He insisted I not help him, the stubborn thing."

"Oh, it's lovely," Padma breathed, sticking a hand out to catch some snow on her fingers. It felt perfectly real, and tasted like the clearest water when she tentatively licked her palm. "But, why?"

Hermione laughed. "Perhaps you might check for a note."

And there was a note, written carefully on a small bit of parchment that lay on Padma's desk. The snow had dampened it slightly, but Padma could still read the words that stilled her heart. "Hope this grants your Christmas wish, Padma. Sorry I couldn't be there to see your face or to tell you in person how I feel about you, but I'm a bit of an idiot at this sort of thing. Perhaps after the holiday we might have time to share a cup of coffee or something? Or at least another ride in the lift. Happy Christmas, from Harry."

Padma stood in the middle of the room and let the snow fall down upon her, with tears glimmering in her eyes and a song in her heart. It was the most wonderful Christmas present she had ever received. And she didn't feel quite so silly anymore, either. She'd be counting down the days 'til coffee with Harry, anyway.


End file.
